Chinese Cultural Diplomacy in Africa

A China in Africa Podcast

By Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more on April 18, 2015

The Chinese government has spent billions of dollars in Africa on public diplomacy initiatives that are intended to improve the country’s image. Central to that strategy is the growing network of Confucius Institutes (CIs) spread across the continent that are designed to introduce Chinese language and culture to the African masses. Today, there are over 40 CIs in Africa but, despite their good intentions, these institutes attract significant controversy.

Falk Hartig

on April 18, 2015

Falk Hartig is a post-doctoral researcher at the Frankfurt Inter-Centre-Programme on new African-Asian Interactions at Frankfurt University, Germany. His research focuses on public and cultural diplomacy, political communication, and issues of external perception. He received his Ph.D. from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

Hartig holds a M.A. in Sinology and Journalism from the University of Leipzig, Germany. From 2007 to 2009, he was Deputy Chief Editor of Cultural Exchange, Germany’s leading magazine for international relations and cultural exchange. He was a visiting fellow at Xinhua News Agency in Beijing and a Research Assistant at the GIGA Institute of Asian Studies in Hamburg. He writes for German journals and magazines and is the author of a book about the Communist Party of China.

China’s Controversial Trade in Africa’s Natural Resources

A China in Africa Podcast

By Eric Olander & Cobus van Staden on April 17, 2015

China often faces blistering criticism for its voracious appetite for Africa’s natural resources. Chinese companies are spread across the continent mining, logging, and fishing to feed both hungry factories and people back home. In most, if not all, African countries, environmental protection laws are minimal at best, totally ineffective at worst, allowing Chinese companies to operate unregulated in this legal void.

War on the Rocks

on April 17, 2015

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War on the Rocks is a platform for analysis, commentary, debate and multimedia content on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens. It features articles and podcasts produced by an array of writers with deep experience in these matters: top notch scholars who study war, those who have served or worked in war zones, and more than a few who have done it all.

Venture Beat

on April 17, 2015

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